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“Actually, it’s someone you know. Amirah Pratt. Therealone, I mean. She signed with us.”
“Oh, wow! She needs a bodyguard?”
Rogan grimaced. “She’s been getting death threats on social media. Ever since her show launched on Netflix, they’ve been getting worse and worse.”
“I wish I was famous enough to get death threats,” I muttered.
“Trust me: you don’t want any of this kind of attention. All right, you have my number. Call me if you need anything.”
I wanted to kiss Rogan goodbye—arealkiss, not the wimpy cheek-pat he gave me outside—but he was already walking back into the living room. He said goodbye to the boys, who paused their game of chase long enough to wave bye, but not a second longer than necessary.
“Excuse me?” I called. They didn’t respond, so I stepped forward to block their route around the couch. “Hi. Let’s stop and have a chat real quick.”
Both boys skidded to a halt in front of me. Dustin, the one with curly black hair, frowned. “Who are you?”
“I’m Miss Heather. You met me a few minutes ago.” I pointed at Micah. “Youthrew a pudding cup at me.”
“Yeah, I wasplaying,” he said, as ifIwas the idiot.
I smiled sweetly. “I’m going to give you a free pass on that, because I’m a nice lady. But I’ll only stay a nice lady if we establish some rules.”
Structure was important for all people, but it wasespeciallycrucial for children. It was the framework for controlling behavior and setting boundaries and limits. So it was the first thing I needed to establish.
I looked at my watch. It was 8:15. “Have you had breakfast yet?”
Micah rolled his eyes. “Duh. Pudding.”
“I had purple toast!” Dustin said proudly.
I gave a start. “Purpletoast? You know what, nevermind. My favorite cartoon growing up wasRugrats. What’s your favorite?”
Both of them answered in unison: “Trollhunters!”
I sighed with relief. I knew this one. That would make things easier.
“Trollhunters is one of my favorites too,” I said. “I love Jim Lake Jr.”
Micah’s mouth went slack. “You know Jim?”
“Of course I do! And what did Jim do after finding the Amulet of Daylight?”
I had their full, undivided attention now. “He made a plan!” Dustin answered.
I snapped my fingers. “That’s right! He had a plan, so we’re going to come up with a plan, too.”
Micah shook his head. “Jim had a plan because he was going on anadventure. We aren’t going on any adventure, are we?”
“We might!” I replied happily. “And it’s good to have a planevery single day. That way, if an adventure comes along, we’re prepared for it! Now, which of you can find me some paper and a pencil?”
Both of them screamed that they could, and went running down the hall to their rooms. Micah returned first with a fistful of colored pencils and a notebook. The first seven pages were covered in scribbles, but the ones after that were blank.
“Let’s come up with a plan,” I said. “Nobody will know the plan except us.”
“Nobody?” Micah asked.
“Cora will know it too, but that’s it,” I replied.
Dustin gawked. “Not even our dads will know?”
